The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Plumbago plant, botanically known as Plumbago indica, and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98BCT9805PLUxe2x80x99.
The new Plumbago originated from a cross made by the Inventor of two unidentified selections of Plumbago indica. The cultivar xe2x80x98BCT9805PLUxe2x80x99 was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in Voorhout, The Netherlands in 1997. The selection of this plant was based on its compact plant habit and numerous leaves.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by tissue culture since 1998 in Voorhout, The Netherlands, has shown that the unique features of the new Plumbago are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
Plants of the cultivar xe2x80x98BCT9805PLUxe2x80x99 have not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, light intensity, daylength, irrigation amount and frequency, and/or fertilizer rate without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98BCT9805PLUxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98BCT9805PLUxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Compact plant habit.
2. Densely foliated.
3. Freely flowering habit.
4. Dark pink flower color.
Plants of the cultivar xe2x80x98BCT9805PLUxe2x80x99 can be compared to plants of the parent selections, the unidentified selection of Plumbago indica. In side-by-side comparisons conducted by the Inventor in Voorhout, The Netherlands, plants of the new Plumbago differed from plants of the unidentified Plumbago selections in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Plumbago are more compact and more densely foliated than plants of the unidentified Plumbago selections.
2. Plants of the new Plumbago have thicker and stronger leaves than plants of the unidentified Plumbago selections.
3. Plants of the new Plumbago are more freely flowering than plants of the unidentified Plumbago selections.